BANCROFT 
LIBRARY 

o 

THE  LIBRARY 

OF 
THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 


_rtLE        /       -I? 

^  #$p4 


oi     I  o  < 


Why  the  Indian  Bureau  should  be  transferred 


FROM  THE 


TO  THK 


DEPARTMENT  OF  WAR. 


< '  I  f  K YEN NE,  WYOMING  : 
LKADKH  STKAM  HOOK  AND  JOB  I»BINTING  HOl'SK. 


THE 


UTE     WAR 


of 


Why  the  Indian  Bureau  should  be  transferred 


FROM  THE 


DEPARTMENTof  the  INTERIOR 

"^  •  v\ 


TO  THE 


DEPARTMENT  OF  WAR. 


BY  THOMAS  STURGIS. 


qjEUttnnrarx,  WTOMINQ  : 

LEADER  STEAM  BOOK  AND  JOB  PRINTING  HOUSE. 


Bancroft  Libra 


GUI'  Tfkdttior^l  folidy. 


When,  in  1867,  after  two  years  of  incessant  war,  costly 
beyond  precedent  among  indian  outbreaks  in  its  waste 
of  valuable  lives,  the  main  body  of  hostile  Sioux  were 
driven  by  our  cavalry  across  the  British  frontiers,  our 
government  and  people  relapsed  into  that  indifference,  or 
rather  that  absoption  in  private  affairs,  which  is  charac 
teristic  of  all  non-centralized  governments  and  self-gov 
erning  people,  and  is  peculiarly  so  of  our  own. 

The  volcanic  uprising  of  the  Northern  States  in  1861, 
was  not  more  national  in  its  character  than  the  indiffer 
ence  with  which  they  had  for  years  regarded  the  increas 
ing  murmurs  of  war  until  the  cloud  no  bigger  than  a 
man's  hand  had  overspread  the  sky  and  the  storm  had 
burst.  We  are  too  young  yet  to  be  far-sighted  in  our  policy ; 
too  confident  of  our  ability  to  apply  with  crushing  force 
the  pound  of  cure  to  trouble  ourselves  to  apply  through 
years  of  comparative  quiet  the  ounce  of  prevention. 

So  it  is  with  the  Sioux  war.  The  indignation  and 
mourning  that  overspread  the  country  when  Ouster's 
command  died  in  Northern  Wyoming,  was  forgotten 
when  the  Sioux  were  driven  across  the  frontier  save  in 
those  lonely  households  where  stood  a  vacant  chair.  The 
fever  was  crushed  for  the  hour  what  matter  it  the  disease 
remained.  The  symptoms  are  destroyed,  never  mind  the 
cause.  Such  has  ever  been  the  hand-to-mouth  philoso 
phy  of  our  people,  and  never  has  it  been  more  srikingly 
manifest  than  in  our  management  of  the  Indians  of  the 
Plains. 


Review  of  tl\e  j3ioux  Wkt4. 


The  pamphlet  to  which  this  is  an  addition,  sketches 
briefly  the  Sioux  war  of  1875-77,  and  makes  an  urgent 
plea  for  the  transfer  of  the  Bureau  of  Indian  Affairs  from 
the  Interior  to  the  War  Department.  What  were  the 
conditions  of  the  problem  then?  An  indian  tribe  was 
in  revolt;  the  able-bodied  warriors  had  left  the  agency 
where  at  government  expense  food  and  clothing  were 
provided  for  them ;  settlers  were  being  killed  and  stock 
stolen;  the  frontier  towns  were  in  danger.  The  Indian 
Bureau,  with  its  machinery  of  agents,  missionaries  and 
contractors,  stood  helpless.  The  indian  Sampson  had 
burst  the  withes  of  gratitude  with  which  the  sentimental, 
ists  of  the  East  believed  him  firmly  bound.  The  sceptre 
had  dropped  from  the  failing  hand  of  the  Interior 
Department  when  the  Army  stepped  on  the  scene  and 
raised  it.  Through  weary  marches  and  wakeful  nights; 
through  wounds,  sickness  and  death  ;  through  summer's 
heat  and  winter's  snow;  against  enormous  numerical 
odds  led  with  military  skill,  and  in  a  country  vast,  bar 
ren  and  desolate  beyond  conception ;  with  diminished 
numbers  but  undimished  courage  and  devotion,  the  little 
army  of  the  frontier,  (a  few  companies  of  cavalry  and  in 
fantry)  conquered  a  peace,  vindicated  the  authority  of  the 
government  and  restored  safety.  Did  we  profit  by  the  les 
son?  Did  we  institute  a  system  which  should  make  such 
a  revolt  impossible  and  such  loss  of  life  unnecessary?  I 
cannot  say  so.  The  Interior  Department  was  now  equal 
to  the  situation.  The  old  method  was  resumed;  the 
supervision  of  the  army  removed ;  food  issued  as  waste- 
fully  and  ammunition  as  prodigally  as  before  the  out 
break;  murder  and  theft  among  the  Indians  went  as 


•. 

before  unpunished.  To-day  twenty-five  hundred  (2,500) 
warriors  of  Red  Cloud's  band  lounge  about  the  Sioux 
agency  at  Pine  Ridge,  Nebraska.  They  are  thoroughly 
armed  with  long-range  rifles,  and  ammunition  purchased 
from  the  camp  traders  under  the  eye  and  with  the  tacit 
permission  of  the  Interior  Department.  On  the  plains 
around  the  agency  graze  twelve  thousand  (12,000)  war 
ponies,  ready  for  instant  service.  It  is  the  best  mounted, 
best  equipped,  and  most  effective  cavalry  force  of  its 
numbers  in  the  world1;  and  it  is  a  magazine  of  gunpowder 
that  a  spark  at  any  moment  may  explode. 

The  slightest  cause  suffices.  Momentary  dissatisfaction 
with  the  agent;  his  refusal  of  some  improper  demand ; 
even  a  quarrel  among  themselves  of  which  he  becomes 
the  arbitrator,  may  scatter  these  hundreds  of  savages 
over  the  country  to  kill,  burn,  and  destroy.  , 

History  repeats  itself.  The  recent  outbreak  of  the  Utes 
in  .northwestern  Colorado  has  once  more  called  public 
attention  forcibly  to  the  question  of  Indian  management. 

What  is  the  position  now  ?  A  warlike  tribe  is  again  in 
revolt ;  an  agent  and  his  assistant  white  men  murdered 
and  the  women  of  his  family  brutally  ill-treated.  United 
States  troops  sent  to  their  assistance  have  been  waylaid, 
attacked,  and  while  withholding  their  fire  have  been  shot 
down.  The  Indian  Department  again  helpless  to  protect 
its  agents,  or  to  support  its  theoretically  humane  policy, 
has  again  appealed  to  the  army.  With  wonderful  rapid 
ity  it  has  responded,  and  now  on  White  River  the  troops 
are  facing  hundreds  of  armed  warriors  of  this  and  affili 
ated  tribes.  In  a  word,  the  Sioux  war  of  '75  is  the  Ute 
war  of  to-day.  The  tragedy  is  acting  on  the  boards  of 
another  theatre,  the  dramatis  personce  are  changed,  but 
the  argument  and  the  reasoning  that  applied  to  the  one 
apply  with  equal  force  to  the  other. 

Up  to  this  moment  the  Indian  Bureau    has  had  ex- 


6 

elusive  control  of  this  tribe.  Until  the  .murder  of  this 
agent  no  soldier  has  set  foot  within  the  immense  reserva 
tion  selected  for  their  use.  Their  love  of  independence 
and  hatred  of  restraint  has  never  been  crossed  by  the 
slightest  appearance  of  armed  or  forcible  authority. 

The  agents  of  the  Indian  Bureau  are  to-day  with  ener. 
gy,  but  with  little  hope,  seeking  for  a  cause  for  this  out 
break  that  shall  justify  their  proteges  and  lay  the  guilt 
of  this  innocent  blood  elsewhere.  Let  us  also  seek  for 
the  cause. 


Utej* : 


In  1874  the  total  number  of  Utes  was  placed  by  Gen. 
Walker,  then  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs,  at  3,800 
souls.  Of  these  3,000  belonged  to  the  Tabequache  band, 
and  were  located  at  the  Los  Pinos  agency,  in  southwest 
ern  Colorado.  Their  present  chief  is  Ouray,  whose  name 
is  now  familiar  to  everyone.  As  a  body  they  do  not  ap 
pear  to  have  shared  in  the  recent  outbreak;  but  it  is 
probable  that  a  considerable  number  of  their  warriors 
answered  the  call  of  their  northern  brethren,  and  partic 
ipated  in  the  attack  on  Major  Thornburgh's  command. 
The  remaining  800  of  the  tribe  are  divided  into  three 

o 

hands  :  the  Yampa,  the  Grand  River  and  the  Uintah,  and 
prominent  among  their  chiefs  are  Douglass,  Johnson  and 
Colorow.  The  first  two  bands  have  an  agency  on  Grand 
River,  in  northwestern  Colorado,  and  the  third  band 
joins  them  on  the  west,  having  a  reservation  in  north 
eastern  Utah. 

These  three  bands  are  the  Indians  with  whom  we  have 
to  deal.  They  are  probably  somewhat  more  numerous 
than  in  '74.  Having  been  for  some  years  fed,  clothed, 
and  blanketed  by  the  government,  they  have  been  ex 
empt  from  the  hardships,  and  loss  consequent  upon  seek 
ing  their  own  pubsistence  at  all  seasons,  through  a  rigor 
ous  climate  and  a  mountainous  country.  They  have  been 
able  to  construct  comfortable  homes  near  the  agency,  and 
under  these  favorable  circumstances  have  undoubtedly 
multiplied. 

In  addition  to  their  own  force  of  matured  warriors,  say 
200,  they  have  drawn  to  them  as  many  more  from  the 
neighboring  tribes  with  whom  they  affiliate,  and  this, 
with  a  like  contingent  from  their  own  people  in  the  south, 


8 

gives  them  about  600  to  800  fighting  men,  which  forms 
the  force  now  facing  Gen.  Merritt. 

Th«  territory  occupied  by  the  Utes  covers  with  great 
exactness  the  western  one-third  of  the  State  of  Colorado. 
It  is  about  300  miles  north  and  south  by  150  east  and 
west,  and  contains  15,000,000  acres,  or  an  average  of 
about  4,000  to  each  member  of  the  tribe. 

Even  upon  the  liberal  basis  usually  employed  by  the 
Indian  Bureau,  this  immense  territory  seemed  needless 
and  undesirable  for  their  number,  besides  greatly  in 
creasing  the  cost  of  feeding  them,  and  in  '72  negotiations 
were  entered  into  by  the  government  for  their  consolida 
tion  in  the  northern  part.  They  were,  however,  never 
perfected  nor  the  scheme  carried  out.  The  superintend 
ent  adds  that  the  Utes  "have  thus  far  shown  but  little  in 
terest  in  the  pursuits  of  civilized  life,  or  the  education  of 
their  children." 

The  opinion  is  generally  held  and  expressed  that  the 
Utes  have  been  distinctly  and  to  an  unusual  degree 
friendly  with  the  whites.  In  the  abstract  sense  this  is 
erroneous. 

For  many  years  before  the  pioneers  saw  Pike's  Peak  a 
war  of-  extermination  had  existed  between  the  Utes  and 
the  Sioux.  The  North  Park  in  Colorado,  has  been  the 
scene  of  more  than  one  pitched  battle  (of  which  the 
writer  has  seen  the  relics);  and  it  is  their  inherited  hatred 
(in  which  fear  of  a  powerful  enemy  mingles)  deeper  in  an 
Indian  breast  than  any 'feeling  of  antipathy  for  our 
selves,  together  with  their  isolated  position  on  the  west 
ern  slope  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  that  has  prevented 
serious  breaches  between  them  and  the  whites. 

But  though  extensive  outbreaks  have  been  infrequent, 
incursions  beyond  their  reservation  (large  as  it  is)  have 
been  the  rule  rather  than  the  exception;  and  many  a 
hunter  and  ranchman  in  the  North  and  Middle  Parks, 


-    9 

fifty  miles  beyond  reservation  limits,  has  been  murdered 
during  the  past  ten  years;  his  stock  stolen,  his  ranch 
burned  and  his  property  destroyed.  A  dozen  such  in 
stances  have  occurred  this  summer,  the  details  of  which 
can  be  cited  if  necessary. 

Having  thus  stated  the  general  conditions  surrounding 
these  Indians,  let  us  consider  briefly  the  events  of  the  last 
four  months. 


kt  t^e 


For  a  year  past,  and  at  the  date  of  their  outbreak,  the 
U.  S.  Indian  Agent  for  the  White  Kiver  Utes  was  N.  C. 
Meeker.  Mr.  Meeker  was  for  many  years  the  trusted 
friend  of  Horace  Greeley  and  assistant  editor  of  the  JV. 
Y.  Tribune.  In  1869  he  headed  the  colony  that  built  the 
town  of  Greeley,  Colorado.  For  several  years  he  resided 
there,  and  edited  the  Greeley  Tribune,  and  by  his  counsels 
and  character  greatly  added  to  the  prosperity  of  the 
town.  Liberal,  unprejudiced,  humane,  and  filled  with 
the  best  type  of  Christian  philosophy,  Meeker  earnestly 
believed  that  the  Indian  of  the  plains  could  be  civilized 
by  kindness,  elevated  by  education  and  made  self-sup 
porting  by  example  and  precept.  He  was  fully  in  accord 
with  the  views  of  the  highest  eastern  philanthropists  on 
the  question  of  indian  management,  and  was  selected  by 
the  Indian  Bureau  for  that  reason.  He  went  to  his  post 
prepared  to  execute  in  letter  and  in  spirit  the  instructions 
he  had  received.  He  accepted  the  position  not  more  for 
personal  benefit  than  to  prove  the  truth  of  the  theory  in 
which  he  believed.  He  fought  the  good  fight,  and  he 
testified  to  his  fidelity  with  his  life.  He  was  the  highest 
and  purest  type  of  indian  agent.  Under  no  one  could 
the  principle  of  appeal  to  the  higher  nature  of  the  Indian 
have  been  more  fully,  faithfully  and  persistently  tried. 
He  proved  by  the  circumstances  of  his  death  the  falsity, 
the  hopelessness,  the  criminal  folly,  of  such  treatment, 
unassisted  and  unprotected  by  armed  torce,  being  appli  ed 
to  the  inherently  treacherous,  cruel  and  brutal  character 
of  the  warlike  Indians  of  the  "plains."  He  died  because 
the  higher  nature  to  which  he  would  have  appealed,  the 
feeling  of  gratitude,  of  honor,  of  good  faith,  of  respect 


11 

for  promises  (saving  in  some  exceptional  cases)  does  not 
exist. 

Let  us  briefly  sketch  the  painful  story: 

In  the  spring  of  this  year  Mr.  Meeker,  following  the 
instructions  of  his  Department,  set  his  white  assistants  to 
plow  the  land  about  the  agency  buildings;  endeavored 
to  get  the  adult  male  Indians  to  aid  in  the  work;  and- 
gathered  the  children,  so  far  as  possible,  into  a  daily 
school.  The  sick  of  all  ages  he  and  his  family  personally 
nursed  and  attended. 

From  the  outset  the  work  and  schooling  were  violently 
opposed  by  the  Indians,  their  repeated  complaints  being 
that  no  more  plowing  should  be  done  and  no  school  kept. 

Note  the  complaint.  Not  lack  of  provisions;  not  ill- 
treatment  from  a  tyrannical  or  dishonest  agent;  not  the 
infringements  of  miners,  for  none  were  nearer  than 
Hahn's  Peak,  a  hundred  miles  away;  not  the  threatened 
loss  of  their  lands  or  hunting,  for  there  are  no  settlers 
nearer  at  any  time  than  Bear  River,  fifty  miles  from  the 
reserve;  not  the  presence  of  soldiers,  for  none  were  at 
any  time  located  nearer  than  two  hundred  miles;  but  un 
qualified  refusal  that  their  lands,  for  their  benefit,  should 
be  plowed,  or  their  children  taught. 

They  met  the  issue  boldly  and  at  once.  To  feed  and 
be  clothed  in  idleness,  at  government  expense,  they  were 
willing;  but  the  first  step  towards  making  them  self-sup 
porting  they  determined  to  meet  with  war. 

Nothing  at  any  time  did  they  say  about  "Father" 
Meeker,  but  that  he  urged  on  them  the  benefits  of  civili 
zation,  and  yet,  when  their  plans  were  matured,  they 
killed  him  without  compunction,  and  without  the  most 
trivial  pretext. 

And  here  it  is  proper  to  say  that  the  mining  discove 
ries  in  the  North  Park  of  Colorado,  which  are  the  only 
ones  that  approximate  the  White  River  Utes,  and  which 
have  been  so  often  cited  by  the  newspapers  as  an  en- 


12 

croachment  on  Indian  boundaries  and  a  pregnant  cause 
of  trouble,  do  not  at  any  point  approach  the  reservation 
nearer  than  one  hundred  miles.  The  charge  is  so  plaus 
ible  and  so  readily  believed  at  the  East,  that  in  spite  of  its 
frequent  refutation,  it  constitutes  a  staple  part  of  the 
indian  apologist's  stock  in  trade. 

Events  culminated  in  July  of  this  year.  Mr.  Meeker, 
already  an  old  man,  was  violently  beaten  and  dangerous 
ly  injured  by  a  Ute  chief  named  Johnson,  whom  he  had 
greatly  befriended,  and  who  had  frequently  eaten  at  his 
table.  The  white  laborers  were  tired  on  and  driven  to 
seek  refuge  in  the  agency  buildings. 

Col.  Jno.  "W".  Steele,  of  Kansas  City,  who  visited  the 
agency  at  that  time  on  private  business,  found  him  at 
his  home,  propped  up  in  his  chair  and  suffering  severely. 
To  him  Meeker  made  the  following  statement,  which 
speaks  more  eloquently  than  can  any  words  of  mine: 

"I  came  to  this  agency  in  the  full  belief  that  I  could 
civilize  these  Utes.'     That  I  could  teach  them  to  work 
and  become  self-supporting.     I  thought  that  I  could  es 
tablish  schools  and  interest  both  Indians  and  their  chil 
dren  in  learning.     I  have  given  my  best  efforts  to  this 
end,  always  treating  them  kindly,  but  firmly.     They  have 
eaten  at  my  table,  and  received  continued  kindness  from 
my  wife  and  daughter,  and  all  the  employes  about  the 
agency.      Their  complaints  have  been  heard  patiently, 
and  all  reasonable  requests  have  been  granted  them,  and 
now,  the  man  for  whom  I  have  done  the  most,  for  whom 
I  have  built  the  only  indian  house  on  the  reservation,  and 
who  has  frequently  eaten  at  my  table,  has  turned  on  me 
without  the  slightest  provocation,  and  would  have  killed 
me  but  for  the  white  laborers  who  got  me  away.     No 
Indian  raised  his  hand  to  prevent  the  outrage,  and  those 
who  had  received  continued  kindness  from  myself  and 
family,  stood  around  and  laughed  at  the  brutal  assault. 
They  are  an  unreliable  and  treacherous  race." 

To  this  he  added  that  the  whole  complaint  of  the  Indian 
was  against  the  plowing  and  the  school;  that  Douglass, 


13 

the  head  chiet  of  this  agency,  had  no  followers  and  but 
little  influence,  and  that  the  larger  part  of  the  tribe, 
under  the  lesser  chiefs,  Colorow,  Jack  and  Johnson,  had 
been  away  from  the  reservation  all  summer  against  his 
protest  and  orders.  We  now  know  that  these  absent 
Indians  had  been  two  hundred  miles  from  their  reserve ; 
had  killed  white  men  in  the  North  Park  and  on  Bear 
and  Snake  Rivers,  and  destroyed  their  cattle  and  build 
ings,  and  had  burned  the  timber  and  grass  over  immense 
tracts  of  country. 

With   indiau  sagacity,  and  evidently  in  pursuance  of 
well  matured  plans,  they  early  in  the  summer  burned  all 
the  grass  over  which  cavalry  must  pass  from  the  Union 
Pacific   Railroad  to  the  agency.     On  every   hand  they 
traded  their  stock  of  furs  and  hides  for  rifles  and  ammu 
nition  of  the  best  quality.     Within  six  weeks  from  the 
outbreak  the  trader    at  the   agency  sold  to  them  three 
cases  of  Winchester  rifles  and  a  large  amount  of  ammu 
nition,  and  from  the  unscrupulous  whites,  camped  about 
the  border  of  the  reserve,   they  obtained  further   large 
supplies  of  both.     Gen.   Merritt  on  his  arrival  with  the 
troops  after  Meeker' s  murder,  apprehended  a  number  of 
these  men,  and  from  one  alone  seized  12,000  rounds  of 
cartridge. 

The  situation  grew  more  threatening,  and  on  Septem 
ber  10th,  and  not  till  then,  the  brave  old  agent  asked  for 
troops  to  save  the  white  lives  at  the  agency. 

Major  Thornburgh  with  a  small  command  started  at 
once  from  Fort  Fred  Steele,  on  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad, 
but  before  aid  could  reach  them  the  blow  had  fallen.  When, 
after  many  days,  the  first  troops  reached  the  agency, 
they  found  the  buildings  burnt,  and  the  dead  bodies  of 
every  white  man,  including  Meeker,  who  had  been  em 
ployed  there.  The  bodies  were  stripped  naked  and 
mutilated  in  indian  fashion. 

No  more  causeless  or  deliberate  murder;  no  stronger 
illustration  of  the  savage  instinct  when  unrestrained  can 
be  found  in  our  indian  annals. 


by  tl\e 

tl\enq  by  <S^ei\t$  of 
tl\e 


An  effort  has  been  widely  made  by  the  Department 
of  the  Interior,  both  through  its  chief  clerks  at  Wash 
ington  and  its  special  and  permanent  agents  in  Colorado, 
(seconded  by  such  papers  as  the  New  York  Times) 
to  convince  the  public  that  the  Indians  throughout 
this  struggle  have  acted  on  the  defensive  only ;  have 
deprecated  violence;, have  precipitated  no  encounter,  and 
have  been  the  attacked  and  not  the  attacking  party.  To 
refute  this  wholly  untrue  and  malicious  statement  it  is 
worth  while  to  review  the  Thornburgh  engagement;  but 
while  we  do  so  it  will  be  impossible  for  the  fair-minded 
observer  to  repress  a  feeling  of  indignation  that  the  De 
partment  that  had  called  upon  the  army  for  assistance  in 
a  moment  of  great  peril,  induced  by  its  own  folly,  and 
been  promptly  answered,  should  permit  its  agent  to 
publicly  charge  upon  the  men  then  risking  their  lives  for 
it,  the  provocation  and  prolongation  of  the  difficulty. 

Was  Major  Thornburgh,  or  were  the  IJtes  the  attack 
ing  party? 

Setting  aside  the  murders,  thefts  and  depredations  of 
the  Indians  during  the  summer  beyond  their  reserve ; 
this  burning  of  grass  and  other  preparations  to  isolate 
the  agency  from  the  aid  of  troops;  the  gathering  of 
warriors  from  adjacent  tribes;  their  purchase  and  careful 
accumulation  of  arms;  ignoring  the  murder  of  Meeker 
and  his  employes,  for  which  absolutely  no  cause  is  al 
leged  by  their  Washington  apologists,  (evidence  hardly 
admitting  of  argument  to  an  impartial  mind)  let  us  see 


15 

whether  they  wanted  peace  or  war  when  they  first  came 
face  to  face  with  United  States  troops. 

Entering  the  mouth  of  the  canyon,  through  which  runs 
the  little  stream  of  Milk  Creek,  the  skirmishers  of 
Thornburgh's  advance  discovered  a  heavy  ambuscade. 
The  troops  were  stopped  and  a  lieutenant  advanced  with 
a  few  men.  He  went  forward  waving  a  white  handkerchief 
and  giving  every  sign  of  a  desire  to  communicate,  and  was 
received  with  a  shower  of  bullets,  the  Indians  shouting,  in 
plain  English,  curses  and  the  most  abusive  epithets  !  Had 
such  an  action  come  from  the  troops  what  would  have  been 
the  comments  of  the  Eastern  press?  Could  language 
strong  enough  have  been  found  by  the  Interior  Depart 
ment  to  express  its  horror? 

Making  no  return  fire,  the  officer  fell  back  to  the  ad 
vance  where  was  Thornburgh  in  person.  By  a  rapid 
movement  on  their  flanks,  a  large  number  of  Indians 
threw  themselves  between  the  advance  and  the  main  body, 
pouring  in  a  sharp  fire.  Having  withheld  his  men  from 
firing  up  to  this  moment,  under  a  conscientious  and  al 
most  suicidal  observance  of  the  spirit  of  his  orders, 
Thornburgh  then  ordered  a  charge  and  fell  gallantly  in 
leading  it.  Gentlemen  of  the  Interior  Department !  You 
will  hardly  wish  to  put  over  your  own  names  a  charge 
that  this  engagement  was  "provoked  by  the  army." 
The  five  days  siege  that  followed,  the  suffering  of  the 
gallant  little  command  in  their  rifle  pits,  the  magnificent 
march,  rarely  equalled  in  military  annals,  of  Gen.  Mer- 
ritt's  troops  to  their  relief,  and  the  rescue  that  followed 
are  matters  of  history. 

To  one  more  incident  of  the  campaign  I  wish  to  allude: 
On  the  twentieth  of  October  two  officers,  one  of  them 
Lieut.  Weir,  were  sent  with  six  scouts  from  the  camp  of 
Gen.  Merritt's  command  on  White  River,  to  discover  a 
reported  wagon  road  through  the  mountains  to  the  south. 


16 

After  riding  some  hours,  Lieut.  Weir  and  one  scout 
separated  slightly  from  the  others  to  explore  a  ravine. 
Very  quickly  the  report  of  rifles  reached  the  }arger 
party.  Attempting  to  return,  they  were  fired  on  by  a 
body  of  mounted  indians  much  larger  than  their  own, 
and  with  difficulty  defended  themselves  till  dark.  They 
reached  the  main  camp  at  midnight,  returned  with  rein 
forcements  and  found  the  body  of  Lieut.  Weir  within  a 
half  mile  of  the  point  where  he  left  the  command,  and 
that  of  the  scout  not  far  from  it. 

Gen.  Adams,  Special  Commissioner  of  the  Interior 
Department,  has  made  this  event  the  subject  of  a  report 
that  has  been  widely  published,  and  for  what  end  ?  To 
perpetuate  the  memory  of  the  gallant  officer,  or  to  record 
a  regret  thf>.!,  such  a  noble  Kfe  had  been  lost,  for  it  would 
have  been  impossible  to  find  one  of  greater  promise? 
Not  at  all.  That  is  not  the  mission  of  the  agents  of  the 
Indian  Bureau.  He  alludes  to  this  event,  which  has 
carried  mourning  to  hundreds  of  hearts  over  the  land, 
only  that  he  may  apologize  for  the  murderers !  Only 
that  he  may  lay  before  the  public  an  excuse  for  their  act ! 
He  tells  us  on  the  authority  of  the  Indians  that  they  did  not 
fire  until  first  attacked.  Let  us  calmly  consider  it. 

Lieut.  Weir  was  shot  and  died  instantly.  He  had 
left  the  command  but  a  few  moments.  The  Indians 
who  killed  him  numbered  a  score.  Within  half  an 
hour'  afterward  they  waylaid  the  remainder  of  the  party 
and  made  the  attack — suddenly  and  with  desperation,  fir 
ing  first,  and  keeping  them  surrounded  for  hours  They 
were  fresh  from  the  surprise  and  attempted  massacre  of 
Thornburgh's  command;  fresh  from  the  murder  of  the 
gray  haired  Meeker  and  his  assistants.  Shall  we  accept 
as  truth  such  a  statement  ?  A  statement  without  shadow 
of  probability,  and  to  which  all  experience  gives  the  lie? 
Or,  had  Lieut.  Weir  and  his  scout,  suddenly  surround- 


17 

ed  by  an  ambuscade  of  savages,  been  fortunate  enough 
to  fire  first,  would  not  every  sane  man  have  applauded  the 
action?  Had  any  white  man  reason  to  expect  his  life 
from  men  who  had  within  a  week  murdered  the  old  and 
defenceless,  and  had  strewn  the  country  far  and  wide 
with  the  corpses  of  white  men  ? 

I  am  certain  of  the  verdict  of  my  countrymen,  which 
ever  was  the  case.  It  will  remember  with  reverence  the 
memory  of  Weir  and  record  his  death  as  occurring  in 
self  defense  while  in  the  execution  of  a  duty;  and  it  will 
brand  with  indignation  and  with  contempt  the  motives 
and  character  of  the  man  who  could  make  himself  the 
mouthpiece  for  such  an  apology. 

In  touching  at  length  upon  the  details  of  this  Ute  war 
I  have  had  a  special  object.  First:  To  show  that  no  in 
fringement  of  rights  or  failure  to  fulfill  treaty  obliga 
tions  had  taken  place.  Second:  To  prove  that  the 
Indians  have  in  every  way  assumed  the  initiative. 

For  many  of  our  former  Indian  wars  some  distinct 
cause  or  series  of  causes  can  be  assigned ;  some  wrong  or 
fancied  wrong  sustained  by  the  tribe,  sometimes  trifling, 
occasionallv  serious.  In  this  instance  the  historian  will 

«/ 

seek  in  vain.  It  can  be  characterized  only  as  the  natural 
and  infallible  result  of  abandoning  the  use  of  force 
(humanely  exercised  but  still  force,  positive  and  irresistible) 
as  a  means  of  indian  government  and  substituting  for  it 
the  Golden  Rule.  The  natural  result  of  an  attempt  to 
change  the  lives  and  control  the  habits  of  a  totally  savage 
and  warlike  people,  relying  for  your  coercive  machinery 
on  Christian  maxims  and  rations  of  bread  and  beef. 


of 


Of  the  various  Indian  agents  whose  dispatches,  mon 
otonous  in  tone,  fill  the  papers,  I  have  a  word  to  say. 
Stanley  and  others  inform  us  daily  that  "  everything  is 
quiet."  They  did  so  when  hundreds  of  indians  were 
pouring  a  ceaseless  fire  into  Thornburgh/s  rifle  pits,  and 
when  the  shots  that  killed  Weir  and  his  scout  were  ring 
ing  through  the  woods. 

They  are  exponents  of  the  "policy."  They  are  strug 
gling  to  hold  their  positions  and  salaries.  The  truth  is 
the  last  thing  they  seek,  and  one  can  almost  smile  at  their 
chagrin  as  their  turbulent  and  savage  proteges  daily 
give  the  lie  to  the  agent's  carefully  prepared  dispatches. 

Of  the  many  fraudulent  combinations  for  robbing  the 
government  during  the  last  twenty  years,  it  is  probable 
that  none  has  gained  wider  or  more  unenviable  notoriety 

than  the  Indian  King.  The  amount  of  money  handled 
yearly  in  contracts  has  been  immense,  the  peculation 
enormous  and  the  profits  proportionate.  Men  of  large 
means,  and  well  known  in  Washington  and  the  East,  have 
been  concerned  in  it,  and  from  this  source  has  come  the 
desperate,  and  only  really  effective,  opposition  to  the 
transfer  of  the  Indian  Bureau  to  the  war  office.  Every 
effort  to  this  end  has  been  persistently  contested  by  the 
Ring  in  its  passage  through  the  Houses,  in  the  appoint 
ment  of  the  committee,  and  among  the  committee  after 
entering  on  its  duties.  The  immense  profits  realized 
have  furnished  the  "sinews  of  war,"  and  success  has  thus 
far  followed  the  judicious  use  of  the  large  sums  at  their 
command.  As  details  give,  oftentimes,  reality  to  a  pic 
ture,  I  will  say  here,  that  a  member  of  the  Congressional 


19 

committee  that  visited  the  west  in  1878,  to  investigate  the 
wisdom  of  the  proposed  transfer,  stated  openly  in  Chey 
enne,  that  before  leaving  Washington  he  had  been  offered 
thirty  thousand  dollars  to  make  an  adverse  report. 

It  is  not  perhaps  entirely  irrelevant  to  add  that,the> 
majority  report  of  the  committee  was  adverse. 

To  Commissioner  Adams  we  wish  to  do  exact  justice. 
At  considerable  danger  he  penetrated  to  the  hostile  camp, 
and  obtained  possession  of  the  captive  white  women. 
For  the  relief  that  the  country  felt  that  their  lives  were 
spared  let  him  have  full  credit.  But  when  he  gives  us  to 
understand  that  they  had  been  treated  with  kindness,  and 
their  persons  respected,  he  states  for  the  benefit  of  his 
Department,  and  his  employers,  a  deliberate  untruth. 

The  ladies  were  robbed,  stripped  and  beaten  by  indians 
whom  they  had  personally  nursed  in  sickness,  and  fed  at 
their  table.  Mrs.  Meeker  was  carried  half  fainting  on  a 
mule  for  sixty  miles,  without  rest,  and  from  sheer  barbar 
ity  without  a  saddle;  and  the  Chief  Douglass,  their  pro 
tector,  according  to  Commissioner  Adams,  held  a  cocked 
and  loaded  rifle  to  the  heads  of  the  others  while  endeav 
oring  to  make  them  yield  to  his  brutal  lusts. 

That  I  may  not  be  accused  of  having  set  down  "aught 
in  malice"  I  here  append  a  further  verbatim  statement 
of  two  of  the  ladies,  made  in  Denver  on  their  arrival. 
How  much  remains  unstated  can  be  only  surmised  : 

"  What  do  you  think  of  Douglass,  Mrs.  Meeker,  and 
how  has  he  used  you?" 

"  He  has  treated  me  dreadfully.  It*seerns  to  me  some 
times  that  he  was  trying  to  see  how  much  torture  I  could- 
bear  without  dying.  He  is  the  worst  one  of  these  Utes. 
Jack  is  a  brave  warrior,  but  Douglass  is  cunning  and 
treacherous.  If  any  of  them  ought  to  be  punished  he  is 
the  one." 

The  reporter  turned  to  Mrs.  Price  and  said : 

u  Mrs.  Price,  Douglass  says  he  had  uothing  to  do  with 


the  massacre  at  the  agency,  that  Jack's  band  did  it.     Is 
that  true?" 

"No,. he  was  the  man  that  started  it  all.  Jack's  band 
fought  the  soldiers,  and  Douglass  and  his  men  killed  the 
employes.  I  saw  him  during  the  tight  with  a  gun  in  his 
hand,  swearing  and  drunk.  All  of  the  indians  were 
drunk  that  night;  they  took  all  the  medical  supply  whis 
key,  and  besides  they  had  some  they  got  from  ranchmen 
on  the  reservation.  While  Douglass  was  drunk  he  told 
me  a  lot  of  things  that  he  don't  know  of  now.  If  he 
had  remembered  he  would  have  killed  rne.  He  arranged 
the  whole  thing,  and  the  soldiers  coming  has  made  him 
afraid,  and  he  is  trying  to  get  out  of  it  now.  He's  the 
smartest  and  meanest  of  them  all." 


of  the  fA:f:my  towkfri  the  Iiite- 

\  \»/  v  \ 


It  is  well  here  to  point  out  the  falsity  of  the  position 
in  which  the  Department  of  War  and  the  Department  of 
the  Interior  stand  toward  each  other. 

The  Department  of  the  Interior  undertakes  the  govern 
ment  of  300,000  savages,  scattered  from  Mexico  to  Brit 
ish  America,  and  from  the  Mississippi  River  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean ;  of  characters  as  various  as  the  climate  in  which 
they  live.  It  undertakes  to  suppress  and  punish  crime ;  to 
stop  raids  on  the  settlements  and  on  neighboring  indians; 
to  confine  the  tribes  to  certain  limits ;  to  feed,  clothe, 
educate  and  civilize.  It  purposes  doing  this  through  its 
machinery  of  civil  agents,  unsupported  by  any  assistance 
from  the  army.  Annually,  monthly,  this  scheme  fails  in 
some  part  of  the  west,  and  the  army  are  called  on  to  save 
life.  The  troops  scattered  over  a  thousand  miles  square, 
of  territory,  are  hurried  to  the  spot  as  rapidly  as  steam 
and  horse  flesh  can  compass  the  distance.  The  cost  is 
enormous.  The  first  detachment  arrives,  is  met  by 
overpowering  numbers,  and  perhaps  repulsed,  losing 
valuable  lives.  When  the  indians  find  themselves  over 
matched  they  retire.  The  old  chiefs  communicate  with 
the  agents  of  the  Indian  Bureau,  and  deny  responsibility. 
The  army  is  checked ;  is  held  for  weeks  inactive  in  camp, 
losing  all  advantage  gained  by  rapidity  of  movement  and 
the  surprised  condition  of  the  indians. 

Such  is  the  present  state  of  affairs  on  White  River. 
One  of  two  results  must  follow :  Either  a  peace,  dishon 
orable  to  the  government,  (and  now  greatly  desired  by 
the  indians)  will  be  effected;  or  Merritt  will  be  ordered 
to  advance,  only  again  to  be  stopped  midway  by  the  In- 


22 

terior  Department;  remote  from  supplies,  and  surrounded 
by  snow,  whenever  the  Indians  find  themselves  in  danger 
of  being  driven  to  the  wall. 

To  sum  up  the  situation  the  army  is  used  as  a  police 
force  by  the  Interior  Department.  It  is  degraded  from 
its  position  and  deprived  of  its  effectiveness  by  rarely  be 
ing  allowed  to  originate  or  complete  a  movement,  The 
Secretary  of  War  is  shorn  of  his  authority  as  director  of 
the  army,  and  our  generals  become  mere  chiefs  of  police 
under  the  orders  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior.  They 
are  expected,  with  a  skeleton  of  an  army,  to  quell  at  a 
moment's  notice  any  insurrection  in  our  enormous  terri 
tory,  and  are  debarred  from  taking  the  practical  precau 
tions  that  would  render  such  insurrections  impossible. 
Under  the  present  system  they  are  compelled  to  see  the 
accumulation  by  the  indians,  during  the  intervals  of 
peace,  of  all  the  engines  of  war,  which  must  render  their 
subjugation  enormously  difficult  when  the  inevitable  out 
break  comes. 


Wt\y  tl\e  ute$  i\ow  wi$l\  iof  'Pekde. 


In  considering  the  general  aspect  of  the  Ute  question 
to-day  one  phase  demands  especial  attention.  It  is  one 
universally  misunderstood  at  the  East,  and  which  clearly 
explained,  should  influence  the  opinion  of  every  sincere 
man  as  to  the  policy  to  be  pursued  toward  the  indians. 

The  position  and  theory  of  the  Indian  Bureau  is  this  : 
That  the  indians  have  acted  hastily,  are  sorry  for  it,  now 
wish  for  peace,  and  as  an  earnest  have  restored  the  women 
of  Meeker' s  family. 

How  far  the  "hasty"  action  of  men  who  had  been  ac 
cumulating  cartridges  for  months,  had  burned  the  ranges 
and  gathered  recruits  trom  various  tribes  to  prevent  the 
approach  of  troops,  should  be  held  an  excuse  for  murder, 
is  perhaps  not  worth  argument.  Their  "sorrow"  need 
hardly  excite  our  sympathy.  Their  restoration  of  the 
women,  (though  in  pitiable  condition)  does  indicate  a 
faltering  purpose.  They  undoubtedly  desire  a  present 
peace.  Why?  Because  they  are  afraid  to  go  to  war  at  the 
beginning  of  winter. 

They  failed  in  their  grand  coup,  the  destruction  of 
Thornburgh,  as  the  Sioux  annihilated  Ouster.  They  find 
themselves  confronted  by  Gen.  Merritt,  with  a  rapidity 
and  amount  of  troops  of  which  they  had  not  dreamed : 
and  against  which  they  dare  not  make  a  winter  campaign. 
Though  tireless  and  unapproachable  in  the  saddle  during 
summer,  when  the  grass  fails  they  are  helpless.  Without 
grain  their  ponies  become  too  weak  to  travel,  and  die. 
Left  on  foot  among  the  snowy  mountains,  with  no  means 
of  carrying  stores  of  food,  tepees  for  shelter,  or  robes  for 
covering;  exposed  to  a  climate  unequalled  in  the  United 
States  for  severity,  the  end  would  be  speedy,  even  were 
nature  alone  against  them.  But  they  know  by  'experi- 


24 

ence  that  they  have  far  more  to  dread  from  the  troops  in 
winter  than  in  summer. 

With  grain  for  their  horses,  heavy  wagon  trains  for 
transportation,  and  warmly  clothed,  our  men  have  re 
peatedly  shown  their  ability  to  keep  the  field  and  do 
effective  service  through  the  coldest  months.  Gen. 
Crook's  winter  campaigns,  against  the  Snakes  in  Idaho, 
against  the  Sioux  under  Crazy  Horse,  on  the  Rosebud, 
and  against  the  Cheyennes  at  Slim  Buttes,  have  been 
noted  for  their  success. 

For  this  reason  and  no  other,  therefore,  do  the  White 
River  Utes  wish  for  peace.  A  campaign  begun  now 
against  them  by  such  a  force  as  Gen.  Merritt's  would  be 
fatal  to  them.  Driven  from  one  resting  place  to  another 
through  the  winter  months;  their  young  and  old,  their 
sick  and  wounded  dying  trom  exposure,  the  spring  would 
find  their  numbers  decimated  and  their  power  broken. 
Not  realizing  the  number  of  troops  that  could  in  a  few 
days  be  concentrated  against  them,  the  young  warriors 
have  been  permitted  to  inaugurate  war.  Now,  seeing 
that  a  disastrous  pursuit  and  defeat  await  them,  and  that 
the  doors  of  the  agency  with  its  stores  of  welcome  pro 
visions  are  closed,  the  Utes  undoubtedly  "  want  peace'* 
(for  the  winter),  and  any  concessions  in  their  power  that 
will  accomplish  this  object  they  will  make. 

It  is  puerile  to  expect  that  any  considerable  number  of 
the  men  who  attacked  Thornburgh  and  murdered  Meek 
er,  will  be  surrendered  to  justice ;  there  is  no  power  suffi 
cient  in  Ouray  and  his  followers  to  arrest  or  deliver  them; 
and  it.  is  for  us  to  say,  whether,  under  these  circum 
stances,  terms  of  peace  shall  be  accepted;  and  if  so, 
whether  they  shall  be  such  as  weakly  condone  the  out 
rages  committed,  or  such  as  shall  vindicate  the  dignity 
and  authority  of  the  government. 


we  kk  of 


For  relief  from  this  sadly  mistaken  policy,  the  people 
not  of  the  frontier  alone,  but  of  the  whole  country  look 
to  the  coming  Congress.  Every  town  in  every  county, 
e^ery  county  in  every  state,  has  its  sons  in  the  army  that 
is  thus  needlessly  sacrificed.  Congress  can  furnish  this 
relief  in  one  way  only,  namely:  by  a  complete  and  entire 
transfer  of  the  care  of  the  indians  to  the  Department  of 
War. 

The  reasons  for  such  a  measure  are  stated  at  length  in 
the  accompanying  pamphlet,  and  I  will  not  recapitulate. 

The  events  of  the  past  four  months  form  a  plea  for 
i,hat  transfer,  written  in  letters  of  blood,  and  stronger  far 
than  any  language  that  I  can  employ.  In  the  name  of 
Meeker  and  his  family;  in  the  name  of  the  hundreds  of 
gallant  soldiers  whose  lives  have  been  sacrificed  in  the 
suppression  of  indian  outbreaks,  during  the  ten  years 
that  have  passed  since  Fetterman  and  his  eighty  men 
were  murdered  in  northern  Wyoming;  in  the  name  of 
the  hundreds  of  settlers  who  to-day  fill  unknown  graves 
near  the  homesteads  they  cultivated;  we  demand  that 
the  management  of  the  indians  shall  be  taken  from  the 
theorizing  and  ignorant  civilian  and  given  to  the  practi 
cal  and  experienced  soldier.  Taken  from  the  men,  who 
under  the  segis  of  the  Indian  Bureau,  have  fattened  for 
years  on  unrighteous  contracts,  and  given  to  the  officers 
who  by  character  and  self  interest  are  removed  from  such 
temptations.  In  a  word,  taken  from  the  advocates  of  a 
"  policy,"  humane  in  theory  but  worthless  in  practice,  a 
policy  that  has  proved  a  very  god  Moloch  in  its  destruc 
tion  of  noble  lives,  and  whose  failure  has  been  for  years 
written  in  mourning  by  many  a  fireside,  and  given  to 


2t> 

men  who  have  no  "policy"  to  advocate,  but  the  straight 
forward  duty  to  perform  of  governing  the  indians  at  the 
least  cost  of  human  life. 

THOMAS  STURGIS. 


Cheyenne,  Wyoming  Territory, 
Nov.  10th,  1879. 


